Relational Proposition. Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Relational Proposition

Definition note

A relational proposition is a proposition that

arises as an implicature between two propositions or groups of propositions that are related by an interpropositional relation
expresses a relation
arises even where the relation is not signaled in the text, as by a conjunction, and
produces coherence in the text.

Example note

I’m hungry. Let’s go to the Fuji Gardens.

There is a relational proposition in this sequence that expresses a solutionhood relation and means "our going to Fuji Gardens is a (partial) solution to my problem of being hungry."

Bibliographic note 3

Page/s: 7–9

Source: Mann and Thompson 1986

Mann, William C., and Sandra A. Thompson. 1986.Rhetorical structure theory: Description and construction of text structures. Marina del Rey, CA: Information Sciences Institute.

Page/s: 1–3

Source: Mann and Thompson 1985

Mann, William C., and Sandra A. Thompson. 1985.Assertions from discourse structure. Marina del Rey, CA: Information Sciences Institute.

Page/s: 9–13, 16–17

Source: Mann and Thompson 1983

Mann, William C., and Sandra A. Thompson. 1983.Relational propositions in discourse. Marina del Rey, CA: Information Sciences Institute.